Southfield an intergenerational development

March 05, 2006|GENE STOWE Tribune Correspondent

Lloyd and Mary Jo Miller moved from Detroit Street a mile away into a condo in Southfield in 1993, when the development was just starting. "We moved out here to Southfield because we thought it would be time to get rid of our regular house and get into a condo," she says. "We were the first people in, and it's blossomed since then." Southfield, an intergenerational community at Kern and Miami that started when two generations of Troyers decided to share a driveway, has matured into a pleasant neighborhood of 50 condominiums and 42 single-family homes. Single-family homeowners took over responsibility for their association about a year ago -- condominium owners had assumed their role in 2001 -- and Leroy Troyer and his son, Terry, expect to start developing another 50 acres to the south later this year. "We like the location of the development," resident Bill White says. "Especially since the Erskine development is taking place replacing Scottsdale, we're getting some nice stores and nice restaurants and groceries and whatnot." The carefully planned community has walking paths and common space, including a set-aside 10 acres of hardwood trees and a broad, grassy traffic circle with trees and boulders to foster mingling among mostly retired people in the condominiums and families in the houses. The development of mostly brick and earth-tone homes is adjacent to the Southfield Village assisted living and skilled nursing care facility so residents can live out their lives within walking distance. "We have families whose parents live in the retirement community or assisted living or health care and the children are living in Southfield," Leroy Troyer says. The vision for the community arose when Terry Troyer, who had been living in Grand Rapids for eight years, decided to return. "It was difficult to market these at first," Leroy Troyer says. "It took a while to catch on." But the well-respected Troyer Group architectural firm's involvement led people to take a chance. "We saw it in one of the magazines that you pick up about new homes," recalls White, who moved with his wife, Bernadine, from Zionsville in 1998. "We happened to know Leroy Troyer, who developed the area. "We checked it out and decided to buy a condo. We lived in a condominium in Zionsville. I retired from business in '95 and we had no family in Zionsville, so we decided to come here closer to family." The arrangement includes two duplexes and 46 stand-alone condominiums. Mary Jo Miller wishes the neighborhood had a community building, like some other developments where her friends have an easier time getting to know their neighbors, but Southfield Village and Centre Township Branch library space seem to fill the needs. "You go to the library, and half the neighborhood's there," says Sue Morgan, who bought a house in Southfield 10 years ago and brought up her children in the community. "We all get along, but yet we have privacy also. We have all ages -- newly married couples, people with kids, people with grown kids. It's a nice mix." The homeowners' association, which publishes a newsletter four times a year, has fostered relationships. "It's gone quite well for the last year," Morgan says. "We have many different committees for the good of the neighborhood," including safety, environmental, architectural and social committees. Most of the families were at a cookout in a neighbor's yard last fall. "I think there's different clusters that do things together socially," says Morgan, who plays cards with a neighbor. "Everybody watches out for everybody, but if you need your privacy, nobody's overbearing." Ray Gans, president of the condominium association, moved from Syracuse about four years ago. "Everything looks neat and tidy, and we don't have to do any work," he says, explaining that the association handles the work. "We take care of all the external maintenance on the homes -- the lawns, the sprinklers, the shrubbery, the trees and any of the streets. "Once a year at our annual meeting, we started last year having a get-together. Individuals get together. It's like any other neighborhood. It is an excellent retirement location if you like privacy and pleasant surroundings and not a lot of maintenance work to do." Terry Boersema, the single-family homeowners' association president, is a longtime south-sider who moved from Twyckenham Hills. "It still had city services," he says. "It's a little more country-oriented. We have a little nature area where we can walk paths. We have a large central cul-de-sac lawn area. We have sidewalks to walk. We have the library, which is close by." Know of a neighborhood worth writing about? Let Gene Stowe know at stowegene@yahoo.com.